Ok, so I had to recover from my friend's disconcerting 'encounter' (dare I put it this way...near encounter?) with, well, read about it but it freaked me out and frankly, depressed me. Maybe every generation gets to that "when I was YOUR age" stage of life but the idea that a young man would expose himself to my middle aged friend (and she didn't do anything about it, like call the police) and this might be the new "normal" among the millennial or whatever generation the 20-somethings are, well, it only validates my feeling that the world is going to shit. It also validates that kids these days apparently had/have no parents and are one notch above being something akin to wild dogs. We are in decline and it's hard to watch. If I can find a rock to crawl under, believe me, I will.
BUT, in the meantime, I have a little something to report that diverted me from being depressed then made me depressed again--two men entered my life about a month ago--or tried. One of them was a past attempt and the other was a new contact from a dating site I have not looked at for awhile--the email came out of the blue. Here is the report:
Guy 1 who I called "Cryptic Man" years ago got in touch with me after many years, like five.
There was always something off about this guy and he was still off. After two attempted dates, I figured out he was a borderline personality--as in maybe more than one or two of them. After personality "Mean" demonstrated stunning levels of vitriol based entirely on his own perceptions and trip about me, I bailed out as quickly as I could all the while advising him to see a shrink. What sucked me back in and probably sucks all of us back in was the "potential" he/we had...if only...
You have to let that go. Men don't suddenly de-asshole themselves without counseling and intervention. Once an asshole to you, always an asshole to you. Get a clue. Move on.
The second experience was so stereotypical, I almost could not believe it. Man, 54, river runner his whole adult life. While this is interesting, the red flag went shooting up the damn pole when he
told me he was pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering 30 years before but left the degree program to be a river guide and he was still guiding... He was still an adolescent in other words and this continued to bear itself out. First of all, every time we tried to make plans to get together, he would always send me an email that he would not be available because he had this river trip and that river trip and then he was going to a concert...this man is a child. It was sealed when he
emailed me a link to campfire songs he recorded of himself singing songs like "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "The Circle Game"...his singing and playing was terrible. I thought it was a joke; then he emailed me links for Flicker of photos of himself. He did not show a lot of interest in me except some clawing need to get some kind of acknowledgement/approval out of me.
Thus, I have a new category of man: the man who has, how do they put it, unresolved "mommy" issues and until he resolves these issues transforms every women he gets involved with into his mother from whom he is constantly striving for approval. "Lookie' at me Mommy playing my guitar and singing songs!" "Lookie' Mommy at all the photos of me doing things!" "Mommy? Mommy? Tell me that you love me Mommy!"
It was nauseating. He's nixed.
In the meantime, I am getting a new dog from the pound and looking forward to true love, understanding, and companionship.
Depressed because you can't find a decent man? Give it up and go to your nearest shelter and adopt an animal that will love you in a way no man ever could--unconditionally and with gratitude. There are hundreds, thousands of them waiting...If you're holding back your love for the right guy, screw that!! (Or not). Go save a life--your own.
Love ya,
RCynic
